I never realized how it would influence my work, but I've always enjoyed fantasy and faeries and magic. Growing up I loved to pretend in the woods (by "the field" in our old neighborhood - where all the kids would always meet and play). Fantasy movies in the 80's also sparked my imagination as a child and I was constantly on the lookout for any sort of movie or book with a fanciful theme.
I used to review books for a small fantasy/sci-fi/horror publication. Once I reviewed a retelling of Thomas The Rhymer, a minstrel who was spirited off to the faerie realm by the beautiful and somewhat terrifying Queen of Faeries. I've often thought of that book, and after I created this image I knew this was my vision of Mab herself. (If you're in Arizona, you can see this work entitled "Form of Spirit" this month at the Firehouse Gallery's "Geek Love" exhibition.)
I'm sure some part of it's because I have two imaginative, unicorn/dragon/fairy-crazed children that it's come back into my consciousness. We definitely connect over all things fantasy.
